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Thursday, January 17, 2013

Shameless by Cheryl Douglas

Cheryl will be awarding: two(2) - $20 Amazon Gift Cards to randomly drawn commenters during the tour, and one(1) - $20 Gift Card to a randomly drawn host. Also, Cheryl will be awarding ten(10) trading card/cover flat packs to randomly drawn commenters during the tour (US/Canada), ten (10)digital books from the Nashville Nights series (winner's choice) to randomly drawn commenters during the tour and two(2) Swarovski crystal necklaces to randomly drawn commenters during the tour (US/Canada).

Please leave a comment for a chance to win a gift
.

Shameless

by Cheryl Douglas

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

INTERVIEW:

1.What or who inspired you to start writing?

I’ve always been passionate about books. I had the idea for the first book in my series, Shameless, several years ago, but it wasn’t until I decided to make a career change that I finally had time to write it!

2.How did you come up with ideas for your books?

I’m a huge country music fan. Shameless, book one in the Nashville Nights series, was supposed to be a stand-alone book about a country music superstar who’d fallen on hard times. I began to realize many of the secondary characters had a strong voice that needed to be heard. One evolved from the other and the series really began to take on a life of its one. The first series has eight books, and the spin-off series, Nashville Nights Next Generation, has eight books and one special edition holiday novella.

3.What components are necessary for the genre of this novel?

Since I write romance, readers expect to get their happily ever after ending, and I’m always happy to oblige. But I think readers also expect a well-developed plot, likeable characters, a realistic issue that keeps the heroine and hero apart, and a strong cast of characters to enhance the story.

4.As far as your writing goes, what are your future plans?

I’m currently working on the Nashville Nights Next Generation series. I’ll release the last book May 2013. After that, I’m looking forward to getting started on a new series, Texas Titans.

5.If you could be one of the characters from any of your books, who would it be and why?

It would have to be Alisa Turner from High Stakes, book one in the Nashville Nights Next Generation series. She’s sexy, sassy, and her father happens to be Trey Turner, who is one of my favorite characters from the Nashville Nights series. Oh, and did I mention she falls in love with a handsome billionaire?

6.What is the best and worst advice you ever received? (regarding writing or publishing)

The best advice I received was not to fixate on the things I couldn’t control, such as reviews and sales. I was told to just keep writing because it’s a sprint, not a marathon. The worst advice I ever received was not to leave my day job because writing is a competitive business. I’m so thankful I believed in myself enough to take the risk!

7.Do you outline your books or just start writing?

I used to outline my books, but I often found the outlines didn’t even resemble the finished product. After writing eleven books in this series, I know these characters as well as I know myself so I think an outline may be more of a hindrance than a help right now. I trust my muse to guide me.

8.Do you have an all-time favorite book?

The book that got me hooked on reading in the fifth grade was The Dairy of Anne Frank. I was so enthralled by the experiences of this child and her family. Even then, I knew if I ever became a writer, I would want to make the reader feel something as intense as I felt when reading that book.

That’s the reason I’ve tackled so many tough issues in my books, including: alcoholism, illness, death, miscarriage, and child abandonment. It’s the books that make the reader feel something that will stay with them long after they turn the last page. If I can achieve that, I’ve done my job as a writer.

9.What is your favorite reality show?

I love all of the reality shows featuring aspiring musicians: The Voice, American Idol, and X Factor, especially when they have country music artists. The season of Idol featuring Scotty McCreary was by far my favorite. He seems like such a sweetheart.

10.Who is your favorite actor and actress?

I’d have to say, Tom Hanks. I love ‘nice guys’, and Tom Hanks seems like a really good guy. Strange that so many of my characters are bad boys.

Thanks so much for having me, Christine. It was a pleasure answering your questions!

Cheryl

BLURB:

Trey
Turner may be topping the country music charts, but his life has been going
downhill since his wife left him five years ago. He's desperate to make amends
for the mistakes he's made and convince Sierra their love deserves a second
chance.

Sierra
Brooks is happy for the first time since her divorce. She has a career she
loves, and a man who loves her. Unfortunately, the man she intends to marry
isn't the only one professing his love for her. He may be able to offer her
safety and security, but will she decide to risk everything for another chance
with the man who broke her heart?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Excerpt:

Prologue

Five
Years Earlier

The
sexy little waitress stretched to offer her neck as Trey Turner prepared to do
another body shot at the urging of his inebriated friends. He licked the salt
off her neck as he felt a small hand grip his shoulder.

“What
the hell do you think you’re doing?”

He
turned to see his wife, Sierra, staring up at him, disgust darkening her bright
blue eyes. He heard a few of his friends mutter curses as the crowd broke up
and went back to drinking and dancing.

“Baby,
I was just havin’ a little fun.” His words slurred and he wondered how many
body shots he’d had before Sierra intervened.

The
waitress slid her hand down his chest, hooking a finger through his belt loop.
“That was fun. How ‘bout we pick up where we left off later?”

Sierra
turned away, not waiting for his answer as she began weaving her way through
the crowd.

“Sierra,
baby, wait,” he called, trying to push his way through the throngs of people
before she reached the door. He grabbed her wrist just as she was about to
cross the threshold. “Wait. Please, don’t go.”

“It’s
over, I’m done with this shit,” she said, trying to shake loose of his grip.

He
had more than a foot and a hundred pounds on her. She wasn’t going anywhere
until he decided he was ready to let her go, which wouldn’t happen in this
lifetime. “What’s that supposed to mean? Where the hell do you think you’re
going?”

“Home
to pack.”

He
felt the room begin to spin out of control. “What did you say?”

“I’m
leaving you. Our marriage is over.”

His
grip on her wrist tightened. “No, you can’t leave me.”

She
pressed a hand to his chest. “It’s been over for a long time. I’m just making
it official.”

“We’re
not having this conversation out here in front of a hundred people,” he said,
pulling her through the horde of friends he’d invited to his private party. He
opened the door to the small dressing room usually occupied by the nightly
entertainment that performed at Jimmy’s bar. “We’ll have some privacy in here.”

She
was finally able to shake free of his tight grip. “I’ve already said everything
I have to say to you.”

He
gripped her waist. “Don’t do this, Sierra.” He bent to kiss her neck. “I love
you, baby. God, I love you so much. I can’t live without you.” He backed her
toward the couch as he lowered himself down on top of her.

“You’ve
been living without me for the past year, Trey. You’ve spent your days on a
tour bus and your nights in a stadium or bar.” Her voice broke. “We lost our
baby girl and you don’t seem to care.”

“Don’t
say that,” he whispered furiously. “Don’t ever say that I didn’t care about
Callie. I loved her, Sierra. It damn near killed me when we lost her.”

She
glared at him. “Really? Is that why you boarded that goddamn tour bus a week
after her funeral?”

“I’m
a musician; it’s what I do.” He knew the excuse was weak. Sierra was right.
He’d been trying to run away from his grief and sadness instead of staying at
home where he belonged, supporting his wife.

She
shook her head, looking defeated. “It’s what you do—it’s who you are. Trey
Turner, country music’s award-winning, platinum-selling mega-star. What about
my husband? Callie’s father? Where is he?”

He
closed his eyes, feeling disgusted with himself for letting her down again.
“Baby, I’m sorry. Look, I know I’ve made mistakes, but let me make it up to
you, okay?” His hand eased up her shirt to cup her breast.

Her
head rolled back and she closed her eyes. “No, we can’t do this. It won’t fix
the problem.” Making love to her may not solve all of their problems, but it
would buy him some time to figure out a way to convince her to give him and
their marriage another chance. “Just relax,” he whispered, licking her neck.

“Hmm,
that feels so good.” She wrapped her denim-clad leg around his. “But then you
had lots of practice with your girlfriend right before I got here, didn’t you?”

He
cursed himself for indulging in the adolescent drinking game and giving his
wife reason to question his fidelity yet again. “Sweetheart,” he whispered,
flipping the button on her jeans. “You’re the only one I want; you know that.”

She
squeezed her eyes shut as she shook her head. “No, I don’t.”

He
hated that he had given her reason to doubt herself, to doubt them. “Let me
prove it to you, then.”

His
tongue traced the soft fullness of her lips until she finally parted for him.
He groaned, taking her mouth with a savage intensity. His mind raced; fear
warring with panic as he realized this may be the last time they made love, the
last time he had the right to touch her.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Cheryl began her
professional career as a nutritionist, but her love of books started at an
early age. She studied writing for many years before she decided to pursue her
passion as a full-time career. After receiving constructive criticism from
several well-known authors, Cheryl finally had the confidence to write her
first romance novel.

The first book in the
Nashville Nights series, Shameless, was a book that had been dwelling in
Cheryl’s subconscious for years. For her, the surprise came when the manuscript
began taking on a life of it’s own. Characters came to life, secondary
characters became more prominent, outlines were forgotten, and a single title
evolved into an eight book series, and another eight book spin-off series
entitled Nashville Nights, Next Generation.

One word would aptly
describe Cheryl: workaholic. She lives and breathes her writing, when she’s
sleeping, watching TV, driving, reading… it’s always in the periphery of her
mind. Her imagination rarely takes a holiday, even when she escapes to a sandy
beach with her husband and son, she’s planning, plotting, outlining, and
daydreaming.

Cheryl feels blessed to be
able to get up every day and do something she loves. The thousands of fans who
have embraced the Nashville Nights have made that possible. She writes for the
readers who ask for more, she writes to satisfy the muse residing inside of
her, but most of all, she writes because she couldn’t imagine doing anything
else with her life. It took her thirty-seven years to decide what she wanted to
be when she grew up, but now that she knows, she’s convinced she’s found her
purpose.

Thank you so much for having me here today, Christine. It's so true, it's not about the HEA, it's about whether the writer can make the reader care about whether the H/H ever get there that matters. I hope readers will grow to care about Sierra and Trey as much as I did. They are important characters throughout this series because I couldn't let them go and would look for opportunities to bring them back whenever possible!